The invention relates generally to human-machine interface devices. More specifically, the invention relates to an enhanced track pad that allows a user to manipulate the graphical elements of a graphical user interface (GUI) and provides tactile feedback to the user.
Current computer systems allow graphical elements such as windows, icons, and menus to be manipulated through the use of a pointer controlled by a mouse. This interface allows an operator to indicate a single point on the display and to click (or double-click, etc.) one or more buttons on the mouse. The only feedback that the user receives about the success of an intended operation is through the visual display provided by the computer screen.
Like a conventional track pad, a mouse-controlled pointer provides only an indirect way of manipulating the elements of a GUI. Users cannot move a graphical icon or window directly with their hands, the way they would move a piece of paper sitting on a real desktop. Rather, users must operate on elements of a GUI through the intermediary action of a mouse, which only allows users to point and click. Furthermore, a conventional mouse provides no tactile feedback about the operations being performed on the GUI. The only feedback that a user receives about the setup and execution of an intended operation is through the video display. Thus, information transfer between a computer and a human operator is less than optimal.
A touch screen video display would seem to remedy some of these deficiencies. A touch screen display allows a computer operator to directly “reach out and touch” the item to be manipulated, without any intermediary mechanisms. However, touch screens have their own deficiencies, which limit the rate of information transfer between the computer and human operator. Graphical elements have to be of roughly the same size as a human fingertip, which is wasteful of screen real estate, and fingers tend to obscure the graphical elements to be manipulated. Fingerprints, smudges, and other marks on the screen provide a constant distraction. Also, current touch screen video displays, like conventional track pads and mouse-controlled pointers, provide no tactile feedback of any kind to users.
Thus, there is a need for a device that incorporates control and tactile feedback, which allows a more optimal interface between the user and the machine.